I lost hearing in one ear 21 days after my younger brother passed away from cancer. He was my only sibling—a pediatrician like me, who I loved more than words can express; we grew up together, went to the same schools, practiced pediatrics together, and talked with each other most days of our lives.

When he was diagnosed with cancer, I promised I’d always be there for him as a doctor, big brother, and protector. I kept my promise during three heartbreaking years of failed surgery, failed chemotherapy, and failed radiation—and even though I thought I was taking reasonably good care of myself, chronic degenerative disease began in my body.

It’s ironic (but again, human), that to stay objective for my brother, I had to turn a deaf ear to his constant pain and distress. In the process, I lost my hearing, too. Somehow my stress constricted the tiny artery that supplies oxygen to my cochlea (the tiny sea-shell shaped organ of hearing)—probably in the same manner that stress constricts the coronary artery, which leads to heart attacks.

Modern medicine has not helped me so far, but wise physicians recognize that the physiological and psychological resources of patients are an important part of any total treatment strategy along with the best that modern medicine has to offer.

I pioneered Integrative Medicine based on my belief in the body’s ability to help heal itself by remembering wellness and seeking balance. I believe our health is primarily determined by personal responsibility, self-value, and reverence for life. I also believe God gives us all special gifts and mine was to be a physician; thus, I’m embarking on a personal “Voyage to Wellness” that I’ll be sharing publically so that others can be supported in their own voyages.

I’ll be visiting some of the world’s best spas for health and healing to help recover my hearing, or at least build immunity and resistance to more chronic degenerative disease beginning in my body. I’m embarking on my voyage filled with the realization that God’s presence is heard with our heart as well as our ears.

My wife and I visited the Cal-a-Vie Health Spa in Vista, California, for five days last November. Our visit was wonderful in all ways: A beautiful environment, a caring and competent staff, great food, a comprehensive wellness program, and totally outstanding spa treatments.

We were struck by the genuine kindness, caring, and warmth that permeated Cal-a-Vie. Bravo to the owners, John and Terri Havens, and the entire management team for sustaining such a special culture; it stimulates a palpable sense of community between staff and guests, and between the guests themselves—which translates into quick bonding and camaraderie. Indeed, the empathy and friendship that developed between the guests was therapeutic. There’s a parallel between the chemical reactions occurring in our bodies when we show care for others and when we exercise—hence the “helper’s high” is like the “runner’s high.” Speaking of exercise, I was especially appreciative of the staff who led the mornings’ uphill hikes and somehow managed to turn my not being able to make the final strenuous elevation into a personal triumph for me, anyway.

Okay, I’m 70 years old and must admit that my ego was a bit bruised to see a few women who were about my age stay way ahead of me on the morning hikes—especially since I try to practice what I preach by exercising regularly at my gym. So I changed my attitude and improved my stamina enough so that by the last day I could at least keep up! More important is that I’ve now increased the stretching, aerobic, and weight-training aspects of my regular gym workouts by at least 25 percent. I’ve also become determined to get more fit in my 70s than I was in my 60s. (My personal trainer is amazed!)

All the spa therapists we encountered at Cal-a-Vie were masterful with therapeutic massage, craniosacral therapy, myofascial release (see the sidebar), reflexology, and facials. After writing eight books about wellness, I know gravitas and brevity are not mutually exclusive, so all I can say about our spa treatments is “Wow!”

Speaking of masterful, nutrition director, Linda Illingworth, R.D., is an exceptional teacher and motivator who has created a terrific nutrition strategy. Meals and snacks are calorie-controlled, yet everything is delicious and no one seems to leave the table hungry.

The Cal-a-Vie experience is characterized by total luxury, but nevertheless it’s like a physical, mental, and spiritual boot camp for guests who are serious about wellness, especially physical fitness—it’s much more than just being pampered!

It was exactly what I needed to take my mind off my hearing loss. Specifically, I had been worrying whether my good ear would become affected. I was also concerned about socializing—especially during meals—because my one-sided hearing couldn’t tell me where sounds were coming from. (I’d lost my ability to hear stereophonically!) Also, background noises had been causing my brain to go on “tilt”—making words too fuzzy for me to understand.

I was too occupied to dwell on my hearing, because I was hiking up scenic hills at 6:30 in the morning (there were also flatter hikes), participating in the various aerobics offerings (including riding some amazing bicycles imported from France in the shallow end of the Olympic-sized pool), doing yoga, walking through the labyrinth, and exploring the fruit orchards and fields of lavender. There was also an old chapel, a windmill, and other structures to explore that were imported brick-by-brick from France. When all that wasn’t happening, there were leisurely meals, snack times, and of course, each day’s ultimate rewards: Totally outstanding spa treatments!

As far as my hearing, I was pleased that gradually I could understand most of what the guests were saying—even around the dining-room tables if I positioned myself to listen with my good ear while also watching their facial expressions and staying as far away as possible from extraneous noises. I rediscovered the wisdom that healing is a process, not an event—which enabled me to stop worrying about losing hearing in my good ear. Also, while meditating in the middle of the labyrinth, I remembered what I always tell my patients: worrying never helps.

I’m now hearing spoken words so much better with my good ear—my brain began accommodating to my surroundings at Cal-a-Vie in many ways that remind me of the neuroplasticity phenomenon that helps stroke patient increase the utility of their unaffected limbs. The result is that I’m hearing more stereophonically—even with one ear, and background noises are not affecting me as much. It defies my scientific medical training, but I began experiencing my new sensation of stereophonic sound during my spa treatments—especially the myofascial release sessions. In any case, wellness begins in the mind, and it’s a verb as much as a noun, so there’s no doubt in my mind that my Cal-a-Vie visit advanced me on the path to wellness.

Wellness is the graceful dance between our physical, mental, and spiritual energies that leads to the point of balance where our natural healing forces begin to nurture and nourish our whole being. The Cal-a-Vie Health Spa provided me with the opportunity to seek this point of balance—and the motivation and means to achieve it.

Meeting Mohamed

My myofascial release treatments at Cal-a-Vie were extraordinarily effective—but there’s an amazing story I want to share, because when I discovered I was scheduled to see a male therapist named Mohamed, I struggled with issues that caused me great inner turmoil.

First, I generally prefer female therapists, because it takes me longer to relax with a strange male working on my body. Second, I was seriously discomforted (almost frightened) by the name of the male therapist. As a result, I cancelled my appointment with Mohamed—after reasoning that my own wellness experience should start by being authentic enough to accept the fact that I had certain issues as a 70-year-old Jewish man who grew up in the Bronx.

I was proud of being authentic—for all of about 10 minutes! Then the irony of the situation struck me: a strange male who was also a Muslim had been scheduled to work on my nude body! The irony was too profound to ignore, so I rescheduled my session with Mohamed, reasoning that my being authentic involved not just recognizing my cultural baggage, but also tackling it head-on. (That turned out to be a real wellness experience!)

Later, I told Mohamed about my sudden loss of hearing—as well as the story of my initial reluctance to see him. We both agreed we were meant to meet. When he began using his fingers to manipulate the structures and tissues within my mouth on my deaf side, I began lapsing into a deep meditative state in which I was aware of my ear canal, my cochlea, and my auditory nerve feeling alive and filled with an incredibly powerful, healing white light. I asked Mohamed to schedule another session the next day, and I again experienced a trance-like state, this time with the healing white light perfusing not only my hearing apparatus, but my entire brain and body, filling me with optimism and hope.

My scientific medical training doesn’t qualify me to understand myofascial release treatment or the Karma behind Mohamed and I meeting in this manner, but the treatment and the Muslim man filled me with optimism that I would hear better. Indeed, while I am still deaf in my one ear, I am hearing better! My brain is once again interpreting sounds stereophonically, while also dampening background noise—which fills me daily with more of the optimism that began with my myofascial release treatments.

In the end, the real lesson learned was all about personal integrity. Had I cancelled my session with Mohamed I would not have felt true to my own principles. (It would pretty much have violated that inconvenient stipulation in my Wellness Rx that we not do anything we even think might be wrong!) By facing up to my cultural and psychological demons, I experienced a wellness epiphany born out of a feeling of wholeness—seeking true north.

I want to share a discovery about nature to explain why this venerable spa has been refreshing, restoring, and rejuvenating its guests for more than a century—ever since a U.S. Camel Corps survey team discovered two groves of palm trees towering over an oasis of natural hot springs in the southern California desert.

Believe it or not, the discovery is about an invisible, odorless gas found everywhere in our body. There’s more of this gas in our body than oxygen, but not from breathing it in from the air like oxygen. Rather, our own cells constantly produce this gas, which lasts for just a few seconds.

The Magic of NO

The gas is Nitric Oxide (it’s not laughing gas, that’s nitrous oxide). NO is its chemical name. My colleague, Dr. Ferid Murad, was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering that NO is the human body’s “signaling” molecule. In other words, NO is responsible for transmitting the crucial signals between all our cells to keep them healthy and well. Thus, inadequate production of NO in the body typically leads to degeneration and disease. In a nutshell, our body’s NO production largely determines whether we stay healthy—or not! My own collaboration with Dr. Murad, a decade after he received the Nobel Prize, led us to conclude that NO is the Spark of Life, our natural Healing Force. We also identified NO as the molecular basis of wellness, Prana and Chi. Others are now describing NO as the God Molecule.

Eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, exercise, laughing, singing, and dancing will increase NO. So will wine and dark chocolate (in moderation), as will yoga, massage, meditation, and prayer. Finally, living with integrity increases NO. Additionally, research shows that the feelings of epiphany or being in God’s presence that we experience from time to time, are associated with a grand burst of NO production in the brain! Stress, worry, anger, resentment, obesity, cigarettes, recreational drugs, excess alcohol, refined sugar, transfats, and junk food will decrease NO production.

Obviously, modern molecular biology holds enormous potential for the spa industry to offer unique treatments for unresolved health problems and stress. I’m certain my experience was basically a reflection of increased production of NO in my entire body.

Healing Therapies & Hot Springs

I began my Two Bunch Palms experience by consulting with Spa Director, Tony Calsolaro. I informed him that I had been in excellent health until eight months previously when I suddenly became deaf in my left ear just three weeks after my younger brother passed away. I explained that I had been my brother’s protector, best friend and doctor during a prolonged and heartbreaking struggle against cancer. Ironically, the only way I could objectively fill all the roles my brother wanted me to play was turning a deaf ear to his suffering and pain! I said I hoped to eventually regain my hearing, but in any event, my immediate goal was keeping my body, mind, and spirit in the best shape possible to preserve the hearing in my good ear and build my immunity against the onset of any further chronic degenerative disease in my body.

“Breathwork” the director said, adding, “Doctor, all I can tell you is that we have a genuine master of this type of therapy, and afterwards, most people simply move their lips and just mouth the words ‘Oh…my…God.’” The description on the spa website reads: “Breathwork uses specific breathing techniques to cleanse the body and mind of blocked energy. This clearing technique is used to rejuvenate our physical, mental, and emotional bodies and creates greater connection between self and Spirit. In one session you can experience a feeling of stillness, well-being, and total harmony. With full relaxation, the Breathwork session is profound and healing.” At the end of my session with the master therapist, all I could do was mouth the words: Oh…my…God.

Next, I chose the Healing Earth Treatment, which consists of receiving blessings from two native American therapists, who according to the website, “utilize universal energy in a transformational ceremony that includes a sand scrub, an anointing, and a massage with desert herbs that cleanse and awaken the spirit.” It felt absolutely sacred, and I was moved by such a stunning experience. I also chose Cranial-Sacral Therapy, described as “a specialized modality accessing the central nervous system that allows for the gentle removal of accumulated restrictions of the con-nective tissue surrounding the head, spine, and to some extent the whole body.” Another master therapist conducted this treatment, which was so illuminating that it defies further description.

My Thai Massage was done on a floor mat by a Swiss therapist grounded in the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkreis who helped rehabilitate wounded Israeli paratroopers in their war for independence. It felt like every joint and muscle in my body was stretched to the point of blissful submission, then relaxation.

Most of the time, before, between, or after spa treatments, I floated in the healing waters of the natural mineral hot springs for which Two Bunch Palms (and the surrounding city of Desert Hot Springs) is justly famous. Europeans typically go to take “The Kur.” Some countries reimburse citizens for spending a week or two at the baths seeking a cure. Are the waters effective? Is sure felt like that for me—wonderfully relaxing, healing, and invigorating, which is a sure sign of increased NO production.

I spent the rest of my waking time sitting by the ponds quietly feeding ducks, fish, and turtles that seemed to expect nothing less from the guests. The environment was magical and serene. Guests are requested to keep their voices down to not much louder than a whisper, which adds to the pleasure of dining in the wonderful restaurant that features spectacular views of the surrounding snowcapped mountains.

It’s no wonder that people have been marveling over this location for a century before my visit. The spa treatments, the time spent floating in the mineral springs, or just being still under the magic of the desert sun and stars filled me with a newly awakened knowledge of life’s immensity. I felt like the energy coursing through my entire being was the same energy permeating the whole of nature. It dawned on me that living my life with integrity was the most important thing I could do, and then my hearing loss stopped mattering to me.